Page 13 - COVID 19 Efforts 31st DEC 2020

The findings come at a time when the government has decided to accelerate genome sequencing to track changes in the pathogen after a variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the UK had significant structural and behavioural changes, making it 70% more infectious that the original COVID strain.
“There is no need to be alarmed but definitely a need to be cautious,” Vinod Scaria, a scientist with CSIR-IGIB and joint first author of the paper told the media.
“The variations in the virus do not mean that the vaccine will not work against it but is likely to lower its efficacy,” he said.
“During the trials of the vaccine, too, it needs to be analysed whether those who are getting infected are afflicted with the variant virus,” he added.
Scaria said cases of COVID-19 re-infection should also be followed up with genome sequencing.
Website Link:
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/dec/28/covid-making-itself-antibody-resistant-india-already- has-19-variants-of-coronavirus-2241962.html
9